It’s only been a day since Netflix announced an $82.7 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros., and the acquisition has already been described as sending Hollywood into “full-blown panic mode,” “possibly a death blow to theatrical filmmaking,” and maybe even “the end of Hollywood” itself.
Some of the firmest opposition has come from the Writers Guild of America, which issued a statement declaring, “This merger must be blocked.”
“The world’s largest streaming company swallowing one of its biggest competitors is what antitrust laws were designed to prevent,” the WGA said. “The outcome would eliminate jobs, push down wages, worsen conditions for all entertainment workers, raise prices for consumers, and reduce the volume and diversity of content for all viewers.”
While statements from other Hollywood unions were not quite as unequivocal, they still suggested that there are “many serious questions” about the acquisition’s “impact on the future of the entertainment industry” (as the actors union SAG-AFTRA put it).
The deal came after a competitive process in which Paramount and Comcast also bids. Paramount was trying to acquire the entire company, while Netflix will only buy acquire the film and television studios, as well as the streaming business, after Warner Bros. moves forward with a plan to spin off its TV networks division.
Initially, Paramount was seen as the frontrunner, with its ties to the Trump administration (the studio is now run by David Ellison, son of Oracle co-founder and Trump ally Larry Ellison) easing the way for regulatory approval. But even before the Netflix deal was announced, Paramount’s lawyers sent an angry letter complaining about “a tilted and unfair process,” and Netflix soon emerged publicly as the winner.
This deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, would presumably face significant regulatory scrutiny, and not just from Trump appointees. Senator Elizabeth Warren — a Democrat from Massachusetts and longtime critic of Big Tech — put out a statement of her own describing the deal as “an anti-monopoly nightmare.”
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“A Netflix-Warner Bros. [merger] would create one massive media giant with control of close to half of the streaming market — threatening to force Americans into higher subscription prices and fewer choices over what and how they watch, while putting American workers at risk,” Warren said.
She also argued that antitrust enforcement — including the review process for this deal — must be conducted “fairly and transparently” rather than used to “invite influence-peddling and bribery.”
If the government ultimately blocks the acquisition, Netflix would be required to pay a $5.8 billion breakup fee. It’s not clear whether Warner Bros. would then continue operating as an independent company or would reconsider the previous acquisition offers.
Netflix held an analyst call to discuss the deal on Friday morning, and while many of the questions were focused on the financial impact on both companies, executives also attempted to address larger concerns.
For example, co-CEO Ted Sarandos said he’s “highly confident in the regulatory process.”
“This deal is pro-consumer, pro-innovation, pro-worker, it’s pro-creator, it’s pro-growth,” he added. “And our plans here are to work really closely with all the appropriate governments and regulators, but really confident that we’re going to get all the necessary approvals that we need.”
Sarandos also said that Netflix intends to keep HBO “operating largely as it is.” And although it’s not something Netflix has done in the past, Warner Bros. would also continue producing TV shows for other networks and streaming services, he said: “We want to keep that successful business operating.”
As for how HBO and HBO Max would be packaged with or folded into the Netflix app, co-CEO Greg Peters said it’s too early to get into specifics, but he said, “Needless to say, we think the HBO brand is very powerful for consumers. We think that the offering could constitute and would constitute a part of our plans and how we structure those for consumers.”
Beyond general concerns around consolidation, perhaps the biggest question is to what extent Netflix will support theatrical releases for the combined entity’s films — especially after Warner Bros. had a record-setting run of box office success this year, while Netflix’s theatrical releases only last for a couple weeks and skip major theatrical chains because of the limited exclusive window. (This was reportedly the deciding factor wjhen “Stranger Things” creators the Duffer Brothers signed an exclusive deal with Paramount.)
For his part, Sarandos said he “wouldn’t look at this as a change in approach for Netflix movies or for Warner movies for that matter,” and he noted that Netflix has released 30 movies in theaters this year (though again, usually on fewer screens and for a limited period of time).
Similarly, “everything that is planned on going to the theater through Warner Bros. will continue to go to the theaters through Warner Bros,” he said. But in the long term, he suggested that “the windows will evolve” so that movies come to streaming more quickly.
“My pushback has been mostly in the fact of the long exclusive windows, which we don’t really think of that consumer friendly,” he said.
